A grassroots campaign to strip Duke Energy of its decades-long grip on St. Petersburg’s power grid officially launched Wednesday, but the group behind it is glossing over a price tag that could run into the billions.

The organization, calling itself “Dump Duke,” kicked off a petition drive to place a measure on the 2028 ballot asking city voters whether St. Petersburg should pursue a new energy provider. Organizers point to more than 30 publicly run utilities across Florida, arguing that municipal ownership delivers lower rates and better reliability than investor-owned Duke Energy provides.

For 30 years, St. Petersburg operated under a franchise agreement giving Duke exclusive rights to install and maintain electrical infrastructure in the city. That agreement expired in August, opening the door for the challenge.

But the numbers behind a switch are sobering. A Duke-commissioned study estimated that building a city-run utility from scratch could cost St. Petersburg between $2.7 billion and $4.1 billion — a burden that would ultimately land on taxpayers and ratepayers, regardless of who signs the checks. That’s on top of nearly $600,000 the city has already spent studying the idea, with no guarantee of a return on that investment.

Not everyone is convinced the juice is worth the squeeze. Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, questioned whether the city can afford the gamble given its existing obligations.

“We’ve got a bunch of other costs with infrastructure that we need to address,” Mathis said. “So, I look at all the costs the city has. I look at where our current taxes are, and I just wonder where are we going to get the money to pay for this.”

Supporters counter that Duke, which serves 1.7 million Floridians, charges among the highest electric rates in the state, according to the Florida Municipal Electrical Association. Clearwater considered a similar move last September, voting to further study dropping Duke as its provider — a study that, like St. Petersburg’s, came with its own costs and no clear resolution.

Dump Duke organizers need 16,200 signatures to qualify for the 2028 ballot. Whether St. Petersburg residents will trade a known, if pricier, utility relationship for an untested and multibillion-dollar municipal buildout remains to be seen — and voters deserve a clear-eyed look at the bill before they sign on.

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